Jake Slobe | April 3, 2017

Transcript: A study by researchers at Yale University provides the most comprehensive look yet at U.S. public opinion on climate change.

This is the Iowa Environmental Focus.

The researchers asked more than 18,000 U.S. residents questions about their beliefs regarding the existence of climate change, its causes, and climate action policy.

Seventy percent of respondents agree that climate change is happening, while only 53 percent believe it to be the result of human action. The majority of Americans—82 percent—support funding for renewable energy research.

The study also revealed that 70 percent of U.S. citizens support setting strict limits on carbon emissions from power plants. In contrast, the Trump administration has recently announced its plan to eliminate President Obama’s plan to reduce carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants by 30 percent before 2030.

For more information and to access the interactive public opinion maps, visit iowaenvironmentalfocus.org.

From the UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, I’m Betsy Stone.

Iowa Climate Statement 2015: Time for Action

Chris Anderson, Assistant Director of the Climate
Science Program at Iowa State University, spoke during the press conference for the 2015 Iowa Climate Statement at the Iowa capitol in Des Moines on Monday May 11, 2015. (Joe Bolkcom/Twitter)